"This is the Bread of Affliction.... Next Year, May We Be Free Men."
Hay Lachma Anya, "This is the bread of affliction" is the opening passage of the Haggadah.[1] We do not, however, recite this passage before Kiddush at the beginning of the Seder, but shortly afterwards, for it marks the beginning of the story of the exodus from Egypt.[2]
This is why a) This passage is recited directly after the heading Maggid (the recitation), and b) During the recitation of this passage, we lift up the Seder plate,[3] or according to Lubavitch custom, we uncover the matzos, since the story must be told in the presence of the matzos.[4]
From this, it is clear that our intention in reciting this passage at the beginning of the Seder is not only to invite guests to our table. Indeed, were this the only purpose, the declaration should be made directly after coming home from shul, or even while in shul, where it is possible for people to hear the invitation. Instead, this passage serves as the beginning of the story of the exodus.[5] Therefore it would be inappropriate to recite it before the section of the Haggadah entitled Maggid.
A question arises: Why is the passage Hay Lachma Anya placed in the section of Maggid? How is it part of the recitation of the story of Pesach? Moreover, why is it placed at the very beginning of that section, indicating that it summarizes the story, when it doesn't appear to say anything about the exodus?[6]
Also, the content of the passage itself is problematic. It contains three bars which seem to have no connection to each other. The first bar states that the matzos on the table are "the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the Land of Egypt." The second serves as an invitation to others to join in our Pesach celebration, and the third is a wish that although "this year we are here" and "slaves," "next year" we will be "in Jerusalem" and "free men."
Sequence Within the Passage
There are commentators who explain the connection between the first two bars of the passage as follows: The Talmud[7] states that when a person hires Jewish workers, he must provide food while they work. Since all Jews are "descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov," they should be regarded as "the sons of kings,"[8] or as "kings"[9] themselves. Therefore even if an employer provides a feast fit for Shlomo at the height of his reign, he would not fulfill his responsibility. Accordingly, the employer's only option is to make an agreement with his employees at the outset that he is giving them ordinary fare.
Similar concepts apply with regard to inviting guests to the Seder. Since the invited guests are like the sons of kings, or kings themselves, the most sumptuous feast would not be sufficient for them. Therefore, before issuing his invitation, the host clarifies that what he is serving is "the bread of affliction."
But this explanation is insufficient, for it does not explain why the matzah is referred to as "the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the Land of Egypt." Why the latter phrase?
An explanation is also offered for the connection between the invitation to the guests and the bar that follows: "This year... next year...." Our Sages state:[10] "Tzedakah is great because it brings the Redemption near." Therefore we express our hope that the merit of inviting guests to the Pesach seder will hasten the Redemption, and then, "next year," we will celebrate the seder in Eretz Yisrael as free men.
This explanation, however, is also inadequate, for it does not account for the fact that the two elements found in the third bar are mentioned in separate sentences: "This year, we are here, next year may we be in the land of Israel. This year, we are slaves, next year may we be free men." According to the above explanation, both points could have been mentioned in the same sentence, thus: "This year we are here and slaves; next year may we be free men in the land of Israel."
At G-d's Seder Table
The above difficulties can be resolved based on our Sages' interpretation of the verse:[11] "He tells His words to Yaakov, His statutes and judgments to Yisrael." Our Sages explain[12] that this implies that "what G-d Himself performs, He tells the Jews to perform," and what He commands the Jewish people to do, He Himself does.
This implies that on Pesach night, G-d also recites the passage "This is the bread of affliction," for when the Jews are in exile, G-d is also in exile, as it says:[13] "In their affliction, He is also afflicted." And when the Jews will be redeemed, G-d will also be redeemed, and thus the prophet quotes G-d as proclaiming: "My salvation will come soon."[14]
What is exile? The state in which an entity is constrained and its qualities hidden. Its existence remains intact, but it is denied expression.
These concepts apply with regard to G-d's "exile." Even in exile, created beings are brought into existence and maintained by a G-dly life-force. And yet this G-dly life-force is not perceived. It is constrained and hidden.
Why is G-d in exile, as it were? Because of the exile of the Jewish people.
This is the intent of the first bar of the passage Hay Lachma Anya. Anya literally means "poverty," and in an ultimate sense, poverty involves a lack of knowledge, as our Sages comment:[15] "a poor man [is lacking] solely in knowledge." The term "our ancestors" refers to the supernal intellectual faculties. They are described as "ancestors" for they generate the supernal emotions.[16] Thus the phrase "This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate" can be rendered: "Our lack of knowledge dissipated the supernal intellectual faculties,"[17] causing a diminished awareness of G-dliness in this material realm.
This pattern was seen in the Egyptian exile (the archetype for all subsequent exiles; indeed, all subsequent exiles are called by the name Egypt).[18] Pharaoh, king of Egypt, stated:[19] "I do not know G-d," i.e., he did not want to know about G-dliness. And he was supported by his countrymen; all the people around him agreed with this approach.
The redemption of the Divine Presence comes about through the redemption of the Jewish people. This is indicated by the second bar: G-d invites the Jewish people: "Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat." Despite the darkness of exile, G-d promises that whoever hungers for the knowledge of G-d[20] will be satisfied.
Moreover, G-d will not give only what the person lacks.[21] As soon as their immediate needs are met, the Jews will reach a higher level of understanding, and will desire spiritual wealth. The satisfaction of this desire is alluded to in the statement: "Whoever is needy, come and partake of the Pesach offering." The Pesach offering is to be eaten after one's hunger has been sated[22] This is the approach of the wealthy: to receive in a stately and impressive manner, not merely to meet one's needs.
The third bar focuses on the goal and outcome of the Pesach feast: the wealth of knowledge which will accrue to the Jews. Although "this year we are here, next year we [will] be in Eretz Yisrael."
(When we say "next year we [will] be in Eretz Yisrael," we are not resigning ourselves to wait a year for the Redemption. Instead, the intent is that the Redemption should take place immediately, and so the next Seder will naturally be conducted in Eretz Yisrael.)
Eretz Yisrael has a figurative as well as a literal meaning. The word eretz , meaning "land," shares a connection with the word ratzon, meaning "will." Thus our Sages say:[23] "Why was [Eretz Yisrael] called eretz? Because it desired to fulfill the will of its Creator?" Yisrael is an acronym for the Hebrew words meaning: "There are 600,000 letters in the Torah."[24] Thus Eretz Yisrael refers to a desire for Torah.
This will be the outcome of the Jews' participation in the Seder and their acquisition of the knowledge it brings. Moreover, this wealth of knowledge will lead to material wealth, for all material entities are echoes of their spiritual counterparts. As a result, the Jews will attain Eretz Yisrael, and their desire will be for the Torah.
Our Sages say:[25] "The daughters of Israel are becoming; it is poverty which makes them unattractive." The genuine desire of every Jew is for good.[26] It is merely poverty -- poverty in a material sense and a dearth of knowledge in a higher sense -- that obscures this desire.[27] When poverty is removed, the Jews' inherent beauty will be revealed, as it is written:[28] "You are entirely beautiful, my beloved; there is no blemish in you."
"A blemish" refers to a lack in the observance of the 248 positive commandments which parallel the 248 limbs of the body[29] or in observance of the 365 negative commandments which parallel the body's 365 sinews.[30]
Attaining Eretz Yisrael in this manner means that "next year, we [will] be free men." When every Jew's desire is focused on the Torah and its mitzvos, we will become free, redeemed from exile by Mashiach (for he will come in "a generation which is entirely worthy"[31]).
This will mark the beginning of the Redemption. As the Rambam writes:[32]
A king will arise from the House of David who delves deeply into the study of the Torah and... observes its mitzvos... [He will] build the [Beis Ha]Mikdash and gather in the dispersed remnant of Israel. At that time, we will all proceed to Eretz Yisrael, led by Mashiach. May this take place soon.
From Redemption Past to Redemption Present
Based on the above, we can appreciate why this passage is placed at the beginning of the narrative; it embraces the entire story of the exodus.
As mentioned previously, Egypt is the archetype for all subsequent exiles, and the exodus from Egypt is the archetype for all subsequent redemptions, including the ultimate Redemption. Indeed, the exodus and the ultimate Redemption display certain similarities, as indicated by the prophecy:[33] "As in the days of your exodus from Egypt, I will show [the people] wonders." And the purpose of telling the story of the exodus is to stir the faith of the Jewish people, and in particular their faith in the coming of Mashiach. (Therefore the Haggadah is recited in the presence of matzah, "the bread of faith.")[34] This faith will bring about the coming of the actual redemption, following the paradigm of the exodus, when: "In the merit of [their] faith, our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt."[35]
This is particularly true in light of our present situation, when the darkness of exile grows deeper from day to day, echoing the prophecies of the Talmud.[36] In such circumstances, it is possible for a person to despair. Therefore we announce at the beginning of the Haggadah that despite the darkness of the exile, G-d invites every Jew, including the hungry and needy, to place requests before Him, and promises the supplicants that they will both "eat" (i.e. satisfy their needs) and "celebrate the Pesach" (be granted a wealth of knowledge). This will lead to the time when we will all come to Eretz Yisrael as free men. May this take place soon.
(Adapted from Sichos 2nd Night of Pesach, 5720)
Notes:
1. Note the Rambam, who in his Mishneh Torah, in Hilchos Chametz U'Matzah 8:1-2 states that "The order of the performance of these mitzvos is... Kiddush...," while in his text of the Haggadah which comes at the conclusion of those halachos, he begins with "This is the bread of affliction."
2. The name Haggadah is taken from the phrase (Shmos 13:14): "And you shall tell your son..." Alternatively, just as the Jerusalem Talmud interprets the phrase (Devarim 26:3): Higaditi HaYom, as "I gave praise today," so too the name Haggadah is also an expression of praise and thanksgiving to G-d who took us out of Egypt. Rav Saadia Gaon also translates the term in this manner in Arabic (Rav David Avudraham).
3. Rosh, the conclusion of tractate Pesachim; Shulchan Aruch HaRav 473:36.
4. Shulchan Aruch HaRav, loc. cit., and law 20.
5. For this reason, the Rebbeim would begin explaining the Haggadah at the Seder, an expression of the mitzvah of telling the story of the exodus, from the passage Hay Lachma Anya (Sichos Leil Beis D'Chag HaPesach, 5718).
6. The Rambam, by contrast, prefaces this passage with the words "With haste, we left Egypt," capsulizing the story of the exodus.
7. Bava Metzia 83a.
8. Shabbos 67a; Zohar, Vol. I, p. 27b.
9. Berachos 9b; the introduction to the Tikkunei Zohar (p. 1a); see also Shabbos 59b, which refers to "the belt of kings."
10. Bava Basra 10a.
11. Tehillim 147:19.
12. Shmos Rabbah 30:9, the Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 1:3.
In particular, there are two phases in this pattern: a) first, an arousal from above that precedes the arousal from below, as intimated by the wording of the blessing, which praises G-d for "sanctifying us with His commandments and commanding us"; and b) an arousal from above that is motivated by the arousal from below, as our Sages (Tanna d'Bei Eliyahu Rabbah, beginning ch. 18) comment: "Whenever someone reads Torah law, the Holy One, blessed be He, reads opposite him," and similarly, wearing tzitzis on this earthly plane arouses tzitzis in the spiritual realms, i.e., additional G-dly light.
Both these phases are hinted at in the wording used above. See also Torah Or, Biur l'maamar Ki Imcha Mekor Chayim.
13. Yeshayahu 63:9.
14. Yeshayahu 56:1
Our Sages (Megillah 29a) state: "The Divine Presence was exiled with them..., and will return with them." The verses cited are, however, more comprehensive, implying that not only did the Divine Presence accompany the Jews into exile, but it is in exile itself, and in need of "salvation," as it were.
This is also implied by Hosha'ana prayers recited on Sukkos (Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 328): "As You delivered a nation and its G-d." See also II Shmuel 7:23 which states: "You redeemed from Egypt a people and its G-d."
15. Nedarim 41a.
16. See Tanya, ch. 3.
17. Note similar interpretation from the Previous Rebbe, Sefer HaSichos 5703, p. 66.
18. Vayikra Rabbah 13:5.
19. Shmos 5:2.
20. Cf. Amos 8:11.
21. Cf. Devarim 15:8; see Kesubos 67b.
22. Pesachim 70a; Shulchan Aruch HaRav 477:1.
23. Bereishis Rabbah 5:8.
24. Megaleh Amukos, ofen 186; cited also in Yalkut Reuveini, the beginning of Parshas Bereishis; Yalkut Chadash, erech Torah, sec. 178, et al. Others have also cited the Zohar Chodash commenting on Rus 4:7: "This is the established practice in Israel."
Although there are more than 600,000 Jews, this is the number of "root souls," and every one of these roots subdivides. See Tanya, ch. 37.
25. Nedarim 66a.
26. See Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Gerushin, the conclusion of ch. 2.
27. Note Eruvin 41b, which mentions "oppressive poverty" as one of the factors which causes a person to go against the will of His Creator. See the Chiddushei Aggados Maharsha to this passage.
28. Shir HaShirim 4:7. See the reference to this verse in Likkutei Torah, Devarim 45c.
29. Makkos 23b; Zohar, Vol. I, p. 170b.
30. Zohar, op. cit.
31. Sanhedrin 98a.
32. Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim 11:4. Note Igros Kodesh of the Rebbe Rashab [Vol. I, p. 309ff.] (Kovetz Michtavim, Vol. I, Epistle 9), which emphasizes the precision in the Rambam's description of the stages of the Redemption.
33. Michah 7:15.
34. Zohar, Vol. II, p. 183b; see also Zohar, Vol. II, 41a; Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 13d, and the maamar entitled Kimei Tzeisecho, 5708, sec. 12.
35. Mechilta, Shmos 14:31.
36. See Sotah 48a.
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